Train Stutters Along Track (DCC Set)

[Chrissaf]

Have you taken the track up and change the layout much?

[Josef2000]

Have you taken the track up and change the layout much?

Not really, it's only been laid down 3 weeks

[hedley_reynolds]

Hi Josef 

first of all it could be the power clips not making a good enough connection which can cause you problems and that’s why it’s said it’s best to use a bus and dropper wires.

Also what controller do you use although it doesn’t sound like that it is causing you problems but it can give the forum members an idea for things for to watch out for 

and you should have really posted this topic in the DCC section as well as you will probably get a better response from members who use DCC as well 

Hedley

I had meant that it would have been better but one of the moderators will probably put it in that section when they see it

Hedley

[Chrissaf]

Having so many issues around my layout, doesn't seem like a hobby when all I do is have so many issues.

I have the mixed freight dcc set, using insulfrog points. My trains seem to stutter or completely stop on a straight piece of track. The pickups make contact with the wheels and the track is cleaned with a Peco Rubber. It's dcc and I use power clips. There are no bus wires, all trains run poorly on the track. It is all level track. Trains are brand new as half of the track. What can i do?

[Chrissaf]

The pickups make contact with the wheels.

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1) How do you know they do....what diagnostic tests have you done to prove it?

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2) The Mixed Freight Set includes two locos, both of which are 0-6-0 configuration. These are the type of locos that are going to show up any pickup issues that are present, compared to longer wheelbase multi-wheel pickup locos. Do you have any longer wheelbase locos other than the two locos in the set, if so, what are they and do they perform exactly as poorly as the set locos as well?

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3) You say you have cleaned the rails with a PECO track rubber, but what about the wheels have you cleaned them too?

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For wheels. Cotton buds with a chemical cleaner such as IsoPropyl Alcohol (IPA). Including the wheel surface that makes contact with the pickups.

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all trains run poorly on the track.

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So there are more than one loco and all locos exhibit the same symptoms. This would infer that the problem is with the track and not so much with the locos. But the locos could all still have dirty wheels so don't assume that the locos are all OK.

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4) Is the track fixed down or just loose laid? Loose laid track can perform less well than pinned down track.

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5) What is the track laid on, a table, the floor, a baseboard etc. What material, if plywood or similar, is it braced with timber battens to make it super rigid?

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Remove and refit the R8232 DCC Point Clips. Cleaning the contact area on the side of the rails where the clips touch with the cotton bud / IPA cleaning method first, before refitting. If the clips were fitted to dirty rails, the electrical conductivity through the clips could be intermittent.

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Trains are brand new as is half of the track.

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6) So if half the track is new, what is the other half of the track. Is it second-hand or been in long term storage? Is it steel or nickel silver?

(Note: a magnet sticks to steel but not NS).

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7) Do you have access to a Digital Multimeter for testing?

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Sorry for the barrage of questions, but the requested information is important to know if the forum membership on here are going to be able to help you with detailed specific suggestions.

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Note: In general, DCC is far more sensitive to poor electrical connectivity. Loose laid track can move (even just the vibration from moving trains can slightly move track pieces), moving track pieces stress and strain the track joiners that are used to clip the rails together. They can become loose. Loose laid track can also warp slightly and not lie completely flat. This all affects the capability of the track to pass good robust current and DCC digital signals from the controller to the loco decoder.

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PS - For others reading, the Mixed Freight Set includes the Hornby Select controller and not RailMaster / eLink.

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My reply is a long one. I would appreciate it if you didn't use the 'white arrow / blue box' button. This is not a 'Reply to this post' button. It is always preferable to write your reply in the 'Reply Text Box' at the bottom of the page and use the Green 'Reply' button.

[Josef2000]

Thank you for the reply Chrissaf. 

I have cleaned the pickups and they touch the inside of wheels.

I have longer locos such as the Pendolino. It runs smoothly at high speeds, however, passes the points with ease.

I have not cleaned with IPA however that is on my to-do list.

The track is laid down on hard plywood and supported underside. A sheet of cork covers this baseboard, 12mm thick. 

I have not pinned any track down as I am having these problems I do not feel it would be a great idea to pin it down until I am confident that no problems with track occur.

The track has been in storage for a few years and is made from steel.

I am using the DCC Select controller as it had came with the train set

[96RAF]

For starters I would get rid of the steel track, then make a simple oval with the nickel silver track and run your locos on that. This will prove the track and its connections are good and/or the locos are good or not. Once you have the locos running well on a basic layout, then expand the track as necessary noting if a problem develops at any point (in time or turnout).

 

Systematic fault finding is the only way to end up with a totally reliable layout.

Rob

[Chrissaf]

Yes I would agree with Rob, the steel track is most likely the crux of your reported problems. Eliminate the steel track pieces from the layout and test again.

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PS, 0-6-0 Locos are notorious for stalling on Hornby Insulfrog points, by saying in your later reply that the longer locos pass over the points with ease, gives an inference that the shorter 0-6-0 locos do not.

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There are many posts on this forum that provide a proven working solution of poor pickup issues on Hornby Insulfrog points. The solution involves adding an extra track pin near the frog area of the point (requires a new hole to be drilled). Your points don't yet have even the factory provided holes fitted with a track pin yet, net alone an additional one.

[Josef2000]

I will replace all steel track with newer nickel silver track.

I've heard of tinfoil over the frog, would that be of use? I'm not sure what an extra track pin would do.

 

Thankyou both

[Howbi]

Tin foil on the frog is not a good idea. If it doesn't cause a short it will get torn and caught up in the loco wheels. The extra pin in the middle of the point is to ensure that the point is perfectly flat...........HB